NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday granted leave to the petitions filed by the Kerala Muslim Jama’ath Council and the Christian Service Society.A Bench comprising Justice D K Jain and Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly issued directives in this regard after hearing the submissions of senior counsel Paramjit Patwalia and E M S Anam who appeared for the petitioners.Both the Kerala Muslim Jama’ath Council and the Christian Service Society have challenged the 10 per cent reservation provided by Kerala Government to the students of economically backward sections among the forward communities.Patwalia told the Bench that the reservations for the below the poverty (BPL) families among the forward castes is not valid. The question is whether Article 54(4) of the Constitution provides such reservations. Article 54 provides reservations to the socially and educationally backward classes, but not to the forward communities.Moreover, the state government has not classified the people as economically backward, he said.The very concept of reservations solely on the basis of economic condition of the individuals is alien to the Constitution, he said.At this, Justice Jain, senior of the two judges, remarked that the matter needs to be considered and granted leave.Senior advocate K K Venugopal appeared for the Nair Service Society (NSS).The petitioners submitted that the GO is silent on the source of power to provide for such reservation. They further alleged that the GO was issued for political ends. If the intention of the government is honest, it would have offered financial assistance by way of scholarships, education loans, free education etc. to the economically backward students in all communities.The Kerala High Court had dismissed the writ petitions on January 13, 2010.
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